CP Top Ten Missions News of 2005
The year 2005 saw many highly publicized events taking place in the mission fields overseas, with highlights of persecution, government oppression, and church planting ranking highest on the list for missions-related news.
The year 2005 saw many highly publicized events taking place in the mission fields overseas, with highlights of persecution, government oppression, and church planting ranking highest on the list for missions-related news.
1. Eritrea Evangelical Christian Persecution – The Eastern African nation continues its persecution of mostly-evangelical Christians, placing it on the U.S. Department of State’s list of “countries of particular concern” as well as being highlighted by Open Doors USA’s 2005 Persecution Report. According to Open Doors, 1,700 evangelical church members are currently in prison in Eritrea – including 26 pastors – a number twice that of the year before.
2. Prominent Chinese House Pastor Jailed, Tortured – Pastor Cai Zhouhua, who has been jailed since late 2004 was reportedly tortured with electric cattle prods until he confessed to “illegally managing a printing business.” Cai had ministered to six house churches in Beijing before his arrest. In addition to Cai, his wife and brother-in-law have also been charged of helping him run the illegal Bible printing press and were sentenced to 18-months and 24-months in jail, respectively.
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3.North Korea Severe Human Rights Violations – In addition to remaining at the top of the Open Doors 2005 World Watch List of countries where Christians suffer most for the third consecutive year, North Korea has been highlighted in a number of new reports including the 2005 Open Doors Persecution Report and is a U.S. Department of State’s annual report on international rebellious freedom. In recent reports, eyewitnesses have told of the public execution and torture of Christians.
4.Sri-Lanka Anti-Conversion Bill – The Sri Lankan government considered adopting an anti-conversion bill and making Buddhism the official state religion. The legislation had stirred protest and controversy among the international community, with many countries objecting to it.
5. Graham International Festivals – Franklin Graham’s festival in Paraguay attracted over 200,000 people from 850 churches from 46 denominations in 2005. The festival in Melbourne brought more than 80,000 people with about 7,000 accepting an invitation to come forward to receive Christ. His trip to Tasmania drew more than 10,500 attendees, among his other revivals.
6. Rick Warren Presents P.E.A.C.E. Plan in Rwanda – Thousands of Christians gathered in Rwanda for the launch of a global initiative to tackle the largest problems facing the world today – spiritual darkness, lack of servant leaders, poverty, disease, and ignorance. The mega-church pastor intends to mobilize more than 10,000 believers in the next three years to tackle these global problems. The P.E.A.C.E. plan launched over the summer in Rwanda after an invitation by Rwanda President Paul Kagame the year before.
7. Persecution Intensifies in Indonesia – Islamic extremists in Indonesia are blamed for the recent beheading of three Christian teenage girls and a church burning in early December. In addition, forced church closures in Indonesia has increased to the point where at least 35 churches in Bandung and neighboring regions have reportedly closed in the past 12 months. Moreover, the Indonesian court jailed three Christian Sunday school teachers for “Christianization” and breaking the Child Protection Acts of 2002 – which forbids converting children to another religion.
8. NTM Expelled from Venezuela’s tribal region – In an unexpected announcement this year, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez ordered an international tribal mission group New Tribes Mission to leave the tribal areas they had been working in for nearly 60 years. There have been appeals by the group, but without success.
9. One Thousand Evangelical Churches in Ethiopia to Receive Funding – 1,000 evangelical churches along the western border of Ethiopia in one of the most unreached region in the world will receive funding to plant 1,000 churches. The project, called the “Ethiopian Call,” was officially launched on Sept. 1, 2003 and originated from and was supported by the region’s born-again president, Yaregal Aysheshim.
10. Persecution Watchdogs Counter Palau’s Remarks on Religious Freedom in China – Palau in his November visit to China commented that there was more freedom in China than people believe and that churches should register with the government. The well-known evangelist’s comments had spurred protests from persecution watchdog groups. Palau later apologized for his comments.
